Manjushage
by Shi No Kitsune
Summary: 'Nobody would have to know', Naruto thought guiltily, 'a lot of things happen in a fight and I would still technically be keeping my promise.'


I will be using the Japanese versions of certain words, like the ranks/titles etc because the English translations are not quite correct. (There just isn't really an English equivalent so they chose the best option for translation purposes) Hence why I watch sub, not dub, anime and actually **listen** to what's being said. Subs aren't always right either…

btw, future chapters will be longer.

Anyway, I'm going shut up now. If anyone wants to ask questions then PM me. All I ask is that you backup your side or be respectful if it's a question. I may or may not answer questions depending on if it's a spoiler for later chapters.

Constructive Critique is welcome, being rude about it is not. I will ignore comments that are just 'this sucks'. I am a beginner writer and so I will make mistakes. I am trying something completely new for me please keep in mind.

Anyway, I work by reviews, the more reviews, the more chance I'll update soon. A/N will not be so long in the future either, if they even exist.

"Dattebayo" Talking  
_'Dattebayo' _Internal thoughts  
**Dattebayo **Kyuubi

Credits:  
Naruto belongs to Kishimoto  
Inspiration: Stabilo "Flawed Design"(I still think it's almost Kabuto's theme song) & "Rain Awhile"  
Summary Aid: fs44/f/2009/132/e/c/Summary_Writing_for_Dummies_by_

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my twisted imagination and this plot.

* * *

**_"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win."  
_**

* * *

The evening was gradually fading into night, the sky now covered with a striking array of radiant colours. There were still a few clouds out, though more could be seen on the horizon. The wind was already starting to pick up again as it had earlier that morning.

The weather couldn't seam to make up its mind today any more then he could.

The sound of construction had faded as civilians and shinobi returned to the hastily constructed living spaces. The village had, once again, been reduced to little more then rubble while the Allied Shinobi Forces had all fought to beat Kabuto and 'Tobi'.

Naruto barely noticed.

His face, usually wearing that trademark smile of his, was stubbornly set in a scowl.

So many more lives had been lost in this latest tragedy. Tsunade was, thankfully, the only one he had known personally. It had left the Hokage spot open, with old Kakashi-Sensei, Shikaku, and a few others temporarily making the decisions that needed to be addressed right away.

Hokage.

It was his dream, what he had been striving for almost since the beginning.

That was what he wanted wasn't it?

To be Hokage, to have the acknowledgement of everyone in Konoha…

Acknowledgement.

Sasuke.

The promise of a lifetime, he had once said and he never went back on his word.

But what his word meant now, he wasn't sure. After all, he never promised Sasuke would be _alive_ when he was finally brought back.

War had hardened him somewhat, although he was still in essence the same blonde idiot that used to shout his dream out in the middle of the street. The number one most unpredictable ninja, to use Kakashi's phrase Naruto remembered with a chuckle.

There was some differences between the old and the new Naruto though. His cerulean blue eyes held shadows behind them now that had not been there before. He didn't really smile as easily anymore, not a real one anyway. Although he was still able to hide most of his feelings behind one that was just as fake as Sai's old smile.

Again his thoughts took a turn in a different direction.

Sai.

The replacement.

Sasuke's replacement.

Even now, he could feel Sai in the background somewhere nearby. Perhaps the one who had at a point in time had been an unwanted extra didn't realize it yet. But Sai was now a part of the team, more then just the replacement, he was Sai of Team 7. He knew Sai was waiting on the rest of the team to show up for one last attempt at bringing Sasuke back before he was labelled a nuke-nin again.

Even if he still sometimes wished it hadn't had to be this way.

He wasn't naïve as he had once been. He knew now, as he hadn't before, that the only way Sasuke was going to come back was if he was forced to.

_'Or he was dead.'_ A the back of his subconscious stated from where it resided in the darkest parts of his mind.

He knew full well now that Sasuke would not hesitate to kill him anymore. He was not the same teammate that had left him alive in the Valley of the End. Sasuke's talk with Itachi, one of the many brought back with Edo Tensai, had changed some of his views but by now he was to far gone.

Naruto pulled his dark red cloak with it's bottom edge of black flames so similar to the Yondaime's famous cloak, he realized recently, closer to his body to shield himself from the now cool breeze. He readjusted the scroll on his back to lay more comfortably as he continued his musing.

In a very real way Sasuke, the Sasuke of Team 7, was _already _dead.

That Sasuke had begun to die with Orochimaru's cursed seal and had finally taken it's last breath when he managed to kill his brother, Itachi. It had been Tobi, they still didn't know his real name although there were rumours, who had finally broken any chance at ever bringing Sasuke back willingly.

The thought still tormented him though. That perhaps, the old Sasuke wasn't entirely dead after all. He had helped defeat Kabuto at long last and played a large part in winning the war as Naruto had after all.

He knew it was wishful thinking though.

Naruto let a rye smile, a parody of a younger Naruto's grin, cross his face.

Even after everything that had happened between the two, who were like brothers in all but blood, he still couldn't help but remember Sasuke as he used to be.

Teammate.

Rival.

Friend.

The one who had taken Haku's senbon for him on their first mission outside the village. Who had laboured beside him on all those stupid D-ranks. Who used to call him Teme all the time and who for so long had been Sakura-chan's obsession.

The person who had acknowledged him the most out of everyone.

Was it wrong then, that he chose to remember this Sasuke instead of the Avenger?

Or the Traitor who turned his back on Team 7.

And eventually he who became the Destroyer.

_'No' _he decided, '_but I can't forget who he is now.'_

Naruto looked back up at the sun setting over Konoha even as it darkened and the clouds came rolling in. Soon there would be rain, he could smell it in the breeze blowing already.

He briefly wondered where Sasuke was now and if he was caught in the distant storm brewing or if it hadn't caught up to him yet either.

Naruto knew that the only way his precious people would remain safe from Sasuke was if Sasuke was dead. Even bringing him back to the village and to a cell would be a risk as there was always the chance he would escape.

_'Nobody would have to know',_ Naruto thought guiltily, '_a lot of things happen in a fight and all it would take would be a single mistake.'_

He shook his head angrily feeling sick at what he was contemplating. He did not dismiss it either, which seemed to him even worse.

_'Nobody would know that it wasn't a mistake at all. Sakura wouldn't have to suffer anymore.. and you would still be technically keeping your promise…' _That part of him that just wanted to be done with it whispered seductively.

Naruto almost wished that it was Kyuubi, Karuma he reminded himself, that was feeding these thought to him. It would have been much easier to ignore then his own subconscious.

He stood there for waiting, anticipating the next logical move.

He knew what he would do though as soon as those thoughts had started.

After all he had promised.

Naruto Uzumaki never broke his word.

So it was no surprise really, when he felt eyes watching him. The Jounin, for he knew it was Kakashi who watched him, had come up silently from behind. It wasn't that Kakashi was trying to be quiet, it was just too ingrained a habit for him to ever break. Like reading his pervy books.

Naruto knew that Kakashi was waiting for him to break the silence, but he decided he didn't feel like it yet.

He didn't even comment on Kakashi showing up _on time _for once.

They both knew why they were there.

This had been the place Team 7 had always met at for missions. Waiting at the old bridge for their lazy Sensei to show up, usually several hours late. Now they had a new mission, and for once he wasn't looking forward to it at all. Something told Naruto that this time things would come to a conclusion, not ending with them going separate ways as they so often had in the past.

He heard Kakashi sigh behind him and knew he had won his little waiting game this time. A true, although small, smile crossed his face briefly before fading out.

"Naruto." Kakashi broke the silence.

"I know," Naruto replied quietly, all trace of his smile gone as quickly as it has started to be replaced with a serious look. "We are going to bring him back." He said, knowing what Kakashi wanted to hear. "We won't fail this time."

There was no need, between these two, to state who _he_ was.

It was understood.

One way or another, Sasuke would come back and even if it were only briefly Team 7 would once again be together.

"This can't go on anymore." Naruto accidently said aloud he briefly wondered if Kakashi had read more into it then he had intended before deciding, just this time, he didn't care.

Sasuke had betrayed everyone.

_'So was he really betraying anyone by finishing this?'_

It may not be the happy ending Naruto had wanted, that he had once believed was possible even. But a bittersweet ending was better then being left with absolutely nothing at all.

'_Wasn't it?' _He thought to himself.

It was time.

"Let's get Sakura."

I know, not very much action. But my reasons are mostly because:

**A-** They just finished a major war.

**B-** Naruto's not the naive idiot he was when the first Naruto ep came out. Think about it for a moment, Sasuke stabbed him in the back, Jiraiya-Sensei is dead, he's seen his village wasted a few times, the war up close and personal. He grew up some… he had to.

**C-** Naruto is not some going to go all emo, and he's not going to dwell on "might-have-been or what-ifs" (Naruto tends to be a person who does first and thinks later after all) but he is still human and now is forced to realize that the Sasuke who left him alive after their fight in the Valley of the End is a very different Sasuke then the one he is now, and different yet again from Team Hawk's leader or when he was Orochimaru's minion. While he may intellectually understand that, emotionally he isn't quite there yet. It's only natural, as he consolidates all these different 'Sasukes' that he's met that he also takes time to reflect on what his team once was. He has been chasing Sasuke for a long time and while he saw glimpses of some of the changes each time they met, he never really saw the progression towards those changes.

**D-** He also has to make some difficult choices. He is a shinobi after all and has to realize that death is always an option.


End file.
